Nuclear energy draws renewed interest in Congress

Legislation promoting the energy has backing from environmentalists and those who express doubts on climate change

WASHINGTON - Nuclear energy has languished in the doldrums of U.S. energy policy in recent years over concerns about costs and the public's lingering fears since the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan

But nuclear power might be getting a jolt. As investors pour hundreds of millions of dollars in investment into developing safer and cheaper forms of nuclear energy, Congress is pushing federal agencies to start lifting red tape and work more closely with scientists to harness what some consider the energy source of the future.

Bills promoting advanced nuclear technology are moving through the House and Senate, drawing support from everyone from environmentally minded Democrats, such as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, to climate-change questioning Republicans, including Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas. At a recent hearing, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said nuclear power could be the bridge between those seeking ways to combat climate change and those worried about providing the energy the economy needs to grow.

"We know this (legislation) is going to serve everyone's best interest," he said.

From technology giants like General Electric to no-name startups, a rush is on to develop a nuclear reactor that can not only compete on price with natural gas and wind turbines, but also operate without the fear of meltdown that has plagued the nuclear sector. Engineers are experimenting with everything from liquid metal to helium gas to molten salt to keep the reactor cool - replacing water that can easily boil out of control if a plant loses power, as Fukushima did.

"A lot of startups are moving into the space," said Ashley Finan, project director for advanced energy systems at Clean Air Task Force, a non-profit promoting clean energy technology. "The private sector is getting engaged (in nuclear research) in a way they haven't in decades."

The U.S. government is not the only one interested in more advanced nuclear reactors. Bill Gates, the philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft, signed a deal with the Chinese government last year through his startup Terra Power to build a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor that runs on spent uranium. Gates is putting billions of dollars into developing carbon-free forms of energy sources in hopes of shrinking demand for oil and coal, slowing climate change.

The prospect of an international nuclear power race has worried some lawmakers, who are working to make the United States more attractive to developers. Under the package of bills moving through Congress, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which licenses all nuclear facilities in this country, would have to adjust procedures developed decades ago and speed up timelines to accommodate new types of nuclear reactors.

In addition, the legislation would require scientists at the Department of Energy to work with their counterparts in the private sector, including the government-funded construction of a test reactor at a federal laboratory that startups like Gates' would get access to.

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Most mainstream environmental groups in the U.S., however, still see nuclear as an ecological disaster waiting to happen, that produces a radioactive waste that remains hot for tens of thousands of years. They also are equally skeptical that advanced reactors under development can provide cleaner, safer nuclear power.

"Even though many of these advanced reactors have been around for decades, none of them have proved to be safe or that they can compete commercially," Geoffrey Fettus, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, testified before the House last month. "This may serve as a distraction to the rapid scale-up of proven technology to combat climate change, like wind and solar."

With so much cheap natural gas flowing out of shale fields in Texas and other states, some traditional nuclear plants have fallen into financial distress in recent years. Plans to expand Texas' two nuclear plants, NRG Energy's South Texas Project and Energy Future Holding's Comanche Peak, have both been put on hold pending an improvement in wholesale electricity prices on the Texas power grid.

In Texas, where there is abundance of coal and natural gas plants, about 11 percent of electricity is generated by nuclear power. About 20 percent of the electricity nationally comes from nuclear plants.

Close to half of the 99 nuclear plants operating in this country will reach the end of their government-sanctioned life spans by 2040. With licensing of nuclear plants taking a decade or more, it's unclear whether the power would be replaced by new nuclear facilities, or through other fuels.

For now, developing an affordable, meltdown-proof nuclear reactor remains very much theoretical. Marvin Fertel, president of the trade group Nuclear Energy Institute, said he knew of no such reactor commercially operating anywhere in the world right, noting, however, that Navy submarines had used similar technology for decades.

If U.S. scientists succeed in developing lower cost and safer nuclear power, it could provide both a carbon-free energy source and an opportunity to grow the U.S. nuclear industry. In the minds of many advanced nuclear proponents, getting the technology into commercial operation could require government mandates similar to those used to support the development of wind and solar power. Texas, for example, set renewable energy goals for power companies to meet.

"We need a strong high level commitment to developing advanced nuclear and we don't have that right now," Finan said.